Doug Ghim sets pace at John Deere Classic with a 62 and the early lead
Ghim had a one-shot lead over Max Homa and Austin Eckroat among early starters at the TPC Deere Run, where the winning score has been 20-under par or lower 12 of the last 15 years.
He has been around long enough — six years on the PGA Tour, 160 tour starts as a pro — to know it's only a start. The conditions were so ideal Ghim wasn't even sure his 62 would hold up as the lead by the end of the day.
'Honestly, any time you can get to 20 under or better you're going to have a chance,' Ghim said. 'It's still golf. It's still a challenge. You have to hit fairways. I hit a lot of them today. So just trying to shoot forwards of 6 under every day and see where that puts me.'
The John Deere Classic has produced 24 first-time winners, the most of any PGA Tour event since 1970, a list that included Davis Thompson last year, Bryson DeChambeau in 2017 and Jordan Spieth in 2013.
Homa and Eckroat have won before, and both are trying to rediscover their games. Homa gets the most attention, particularly since he played in the last Ryder Cup and reached No. 8 in the world until going into a slump that includes new equipment, a new coach and new caddie.
Eckroat won twice in 2024 but it has been a struggle this year. He ended last year at No. 35 in the world and now is at No. 75, leaving him out of the last two majors. He has yet to finish in the top 10 in 19 starts this year.
Homa ran off four straight birdies early and was tied with Ghim for the lead until he missed his final green at No. 9 into a bunker and failed to get up-and-down, his only bogey of the round. Eckroat had a pair of eagles, one on the par-5 second with a shot to 12 feet, the other when he holed out with a gap wedge from 137 yards on the par-4 fifth hole.
Scoring was so low that 14 players from the morning wave were at 65 or better.
Michael Kim and Sam Stevens were part of the group at 64. Kim was one of those first-time winners in 2018 when he finished at 27-under 257 to win by eight shots. And then he regressed in the worst way, even going back to the Korn Ferry Tour, before connecting with swing coach Sean Foley and turning his game around.
Kim and Stevens are among players who could use a good tournament to improve their world ranking,
which will be used next week as the alternate list for the British Open
. Kim is at No. 55 in the world and would appear to be in reasonable shape.
It would be Kim's first time playing all four majors in the same year.
___
AP golf:
https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
PGA Tour Reveals Tiger Woods' Honest Message on Max Homa During John Deere Classic
PGA Tour Reveals Tiger Woods' Honest Message on Max Homa During John Deere Classic originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The John Deere Classic is heating up at TPC Deere Run, and all eyes are on the tightly packed leaderboard. Davis Thompson holds a slim one-shot lead, but right in the mix is Max Homa, tied for sixth place at 13-under after three rounds. Just two strokes off the lead, Homa is in striking distance as he chases his first win since 2023, and he's looking sharp. Advertisement While fans were already buzzing about Homa's chances, a comment from Tiger Woods added fuel to the fire. The golf legend recently shared his thoughts on Homa's swing, saying, "I like his move... he's got a little cast at the top." Coming from a 15-time major winner, that kind of attention speaks volumes. Whether it's praise or subtle critique, it's clear Woods sees something in Homa's game worth watching. Max Homa during the John Deere Classic golf Lebryk-Imagn Images Homa has definitely stepped up this week. 'It's definitely the best 36 holes off the tee I've had in a while consecutively, so that's nice,' he said after Friday's round. 'I'm just trying to keep getting better every day.' Advertisement This performance marks his best 36-hole start of the season, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Known for his humor and Twitter game, Homa is showing serious intent on the course. With six PGA Tour wins under his belt and a top-three finish at the 2024 Masters, the California native has proven he can contend on big stages. Once a standout at Cal and a Walker Cup teammate of Justin Thomas, Homa's journey has been anything but ordinary. Now, with Tiger watching and the John Deere trophy within reach, Sunday could be a career-defining moment for Max Homa. Related: PGA Tour Sends Message to LeBron James on Saturday This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
Wimbledon: Taylor Fritz reaches the quarterfinals when Jordan Thompson quits with an injury
Associated Press LONDON (AP) — U.S. Open runner-up Taylor Fritz moved into the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the third time in four years on Sunday, advancing when his injured opponent, Jordan Thompson, quit while trailing 6-1, 3-0 after 41 minutes. The unseeded Thompson's movement and power were clearly compromised. The Australian entered the match with back and leg issues and left the court for a medical timeout in the second set Sunday, then stopped after trying to play for three more points. 'It's obviously not the way that I want to go through,' the No. 5-seeded Fritz said. 'It's just sad. ... Respect to him for coming out. His body's not right.' For Fritz, it was a shorter workday after playing a pair of five-setters and one four-setter earlier in the tournament. Now the American will meet No. 17 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia on Tuesday for a berth in the semifinals — a round neither has reached at the All England Club. Khachanov beat Kamil Majchrzak 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 Sunday. 'To be honest, today was a really great performance — at least from my side,' said Khachanov, who finished with more than twice as many winners as unforced errors, 44-21. The 109th-ranked Majchrzak was playing in a fourth-round match at a major for the first time. He was on a six-match Grand Slam losing streak before Wimbledon. Khachanov has been a Grand Slam semifinalist twice, at the U.S. Open in 2022 and the Australian Open in 2023. Fritz made it that far for the first time when he got to the final at Flushing Meadows in September before losing to No. 1 Jannik Sinner. What else happened at Wimbledon on Sunday? Other men's matches later were two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 14 Andrey Rublev, and Nicolas Jarry vs. Cam Norrie. The women's fourth-rounders on the Sunday schedule were No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 24 Elise Mertens, No. 13 Amanda Anisimova vs. No. 30 Linda Noskova, Sonay Kartal vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and lucky loser Solana Sierra vs. Laura Siegemund. Who plays at the All England Club on Monday? The quarterfinals will be set after Monday's play, which leads off at Centre Court with 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic against No. 11 Alex de Minaur at 1:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET). They were supposed to face each other in last year's quarterfinals at Wimbledon, but de Minaur was forced to withdraw before the match with a hip injury. That's to be followed by No. 7 Mirra Andreeva vs. No. 10 Emma Navarro, who eliminated 2024 champion Barbora Krejcikova in the third round, and then No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 19 Grigor Dimitrov. Others in action: Iga Swiatek, Ben Shelton and Marin Cilic. ___ More AP tennis:
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
PGA Tour Pro Give Surprising Impression of Young Rory McIlroy
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. With the Scottish Open just days away and the Open Championship around the corner, PGA Tour is heating up. And Rory McIlroy is back where it all began, Royal Portrush. Just days ago, McIlroy was spotted visiting the course. But while the grand slam winner sharpens his game for a potential comeback on home soil, one of his longtime rivals-turned-friends dived through their memory lane. CROMWELL, CONNECTICUT - JUNE 19: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland looks on from the sixth green during the first round of the Travelers Championship 2025 at TPC River Highlands on June 19, 2025 in Cromwell,... CROMWELL, CONNECTICUT - JUNE 19: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland looks on from the sixth green during the first round of the Travelers Championship 2025 at TPC River Highlands on June 19, 2025 in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo by) More Getty Images Currently sidelined for his hip injury, Billy Horschel appeared on The Thing About Golf podcast this week and shared his unfiltered first impression of a teenage McIlroy. "There was a kid by the name of Rory McIlroy. He has done okay in his career!" Horschel joked. "He had just finished low amateur at Carnoustie... He was only 17 at the time." The two first met at the 2007 Walker Cup at Royal County Down, where Horschel admitted he didn't quite grasp how good McIlroy was until he saw it firsthand. "He did not come over to America to play that I can remember... But we knew he was really good," Horschel said. "I played against him a couple of times and what he showed was a lot of talent and ability. A lot of belief." Their early encounters weren't exactly warm. Horschel confessed he was trying to be "the Sergio Garcia for the American side," adding: "I probably went overboard a little bit... I thought Rory was great and said if you need anything in America I am happy to help, and the next day I read some comments [from him]. I'm like, well this is as expected." Fast forward nearly two decades, and the rivalry has evolved into mutual respect. VIRGINIA WATER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 22: Billy Horschel of the United States celebrates on the 18th green with Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland following victory after the second play-off hole during day four of the... VIRGINIA WATER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 22: Billy Horschel of the United States celebrates on the 18th green with Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland following victory after the second play-off hole during day four of the BMW PGA Championship 2024 at Wentworth Club on September 22, 2024 in Virginia Water, England. (Photo by) More Getty Images Horschel edged McIlroy in a playoff at the 2024 BMW PGA Championship, just three months after Rory's gut-wrenching U.S. Open loss to Bryson DeChambeau. "From there until where we are now, I think the world of him," Horschel said. "We have a great friendship. We text... We're completely different people now." Reflecting on McIlroy's journey, Horschel added, "We knew he had ability, but what he has accomplished in the game of golf was historic. It wasn't one we didn't believe could happen, but you just never know how it is going to pan out." As McIlroy prepares for his return to Royal Portrush, where he once shot a course-record 61 at age 16. The golf world waits to see if he can finally break through and win on home soil, after coming so close in 2019. More Golf: Colt Knost Astonished at Tiger Woods' Ex-Caddie Lying About Yardages
